Posts Tagged With: musicals

After more than a year away from performing thanks to baby Ayla – the sparkling new addition to my family – I finally got a chance to return to the stage to perform in Macao in my favourite show of all time, Cats. I performed in the famous Andrew Lloyd Webber musical five years ago and since then I don’t think a day has passed where I didn’t think about that special time in my life. What can I say, Cats is a show like that boyfriend you just can’t get over.

So there I was in Macao, or the Vegas of the East, with my baby girl, a nanny friend and later, my husband. It’s quite poetic that Ayla turned one on the very day I arrived to my first “job” in a year. Being a full-time mom this past year has been incredibly rewarding but certainly has had its ups and downs and I was very excited to be heading back into the world of work.

Baby Ayla at 8 months

From the moment I arrived I felt very spoilt. Firstly, I managed to scrape together every one of my voyager miles and upgraded to business class (which was absolutely necessary as a mom travelling alone with a baby), then the amazing Cats company organised me a car to get me from the ferry to the hotel and then I scored the most incredible hotel room I think I’ve ever been in. I mean, my shower was so big it had its own corner bench!

The shower

The Conrad Hotel, our home for the 3 week contract, was super accommodating. It’s not easy travelling with a baby and while most hotels provide a crib, there they actually provided a baby bath as well and a complimentary box of baby products. So thoughtful.

Complimentary baby products

Even the room service menu seemed to cater to babies. In the kiddies menu besides the usual fish fingers and hotdogs were pureed vegetables, which came in a plastic baby bowl with baby spoon and knife. These might sound like silly little things but they make a big difference in my books.

So after a 13 hour flight, 2 hours waiting for a ferry and a 1 hour ferry ride from Hong Kong to Macao, I can say that the arrival went as smoothly as I could have hoped for with a 1-year-old. Thankfully I had one more day to relax and get my nanny friend, Avril re-acquainted with Ayla before rehearsals started the following day.

Ayla and I basically chilled that first evening and after a few laps up and down the corridor in her pram, she was asleep, allowing me to indulge in whatever rubbish reality TV was on…ah bliss.